A transport vehicle for compressed bales of straw or silage is known from DE 20 2007 019 318 U1, in which transport vehicle a loading platform is delimited by end walls and side walls. For loading and unloading the transport vehicle, the side walls can be lowered into an open position, near the ground, in which they are arranged beneath the loading platform. In the transport position, an open region remains between the bottom edge of the side walls and the loading platform, which open region can be secured by means of additional, folding side panels or securing elements, in particular in the form of flexible holding elements such as tarpaulins or ropes or nets.
So-called wing body parts of lorries are additionally known (see DE 10 2008 049 135 A1). These are wall parts of the closed body of the lorry which have an L-shaped cross-section and each comprise a side wall and a section of the roof wall of the body. In the region of the ends that are formed by the sections of the roof wall, the wing body parts are pivotably mounted about an axis which is oriented in the longitudinal direction of the lorry. By means of opening devices, which are generally in the form of hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders, the wing body parts can be pivoted upwards for loading and unloading the lorry. A disadvantage of such a form of side walls that are to be opened is the comparatively large lateral space requirement which is necessary for pivoting of the wing body parts. If that space is not available, the lorry cannot be loaded and unloaded or can be loaded and unloaded to only a very limited extent. In any case, a space requirement in the vertical direction is also necessary for opening the L-shaped wing body parts, which space requirement is significantly higher than the overall height of the body in the closed state. If that space is not available, the lorry again cannot be loaded and unloaded or can be loaded and unloaded to only a limited extent.
Starting from this prior art, the object underlying the invention was to provide a transport vehicle for piece goods which can be loaded and unloaded in an advantageous manner. In particular, the transport vehicle is to permit advantageous loading of the piece goods with different load heights and is to be capable of being loaded and unloaded in confined space conditions.
The object is achieved by means of a transport vehicle according to claim 1. Advantageous embodiments thereof are the subject of the dependent claims and will become apparent from the following description of the invention.